Shows carried primarily by one actor
Shows carried primarily by one actor
#1Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 12:17amI was thinking today about shows that are primarily carried by one performer....to the extent that the actor rarely leaves the stage and performs in almost every number. The first example that comes to mind is Laura Bell Bundy in Legally Blonde. I know the role took a huge toll on her physically and led to missed performances and some vocal issues. What other examples can you think of?
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#2re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 12:18amExit the King was pretty much Geoffrey Rush's show. I thought the other actors were wonderful, but it was his performance that made the show what it was.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#2re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 12:18amJersey Boys
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#3re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 12:23amHe doesn't sing in every single number, but whoever plays Bobby in Company is onstage the entire show.
#4re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 12:23am
DOUBLE POST
Updated On: 8/9/09 at 12:23 AM
jo
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#5re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 12:35am
Hugh Jackman - THE BOY FROM OZ.
Someone estimated that he was onstage for about 95% of the show ( only exception was the Liza number). I think he sang about 21 of 26 songs from the show.
He carried the show on his shoulders ( check out Michael Riedel's article when the show was about to close) - artistically as well as commercially. He won every award on offer - including the TONY, Drama League's Distinguished Performance award, and even the Fred Astaire award for dancing. And he won the hearts of the audience, too 
He had great support from the talented cast - but it was his show.
Gary Indiana
Stand-by Joined: 6/18/08
#6re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:35am
In Jane Eyre the woman who plays Jane rarely (if ever) leaves the stage and performs in most of the numbers.
ETA: Also, Irena's Vow felt like a one woman show even though it had a cast of 9 or 10 people.
Updated On: 8/9/09 at 01:35 AM
#7re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:37amChenoweth/Harris in the Apple Tree.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention...I'm the good cop, he's the bad cop.
#8re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:42am
I thought going into this post you meant a show being carried by one actor/actress, as in a bad show that was OK/good cause of a particular actess.
Cause my answer would be Heidi Blickenstaff in Little Mermaid, she saved that show for me..(And I never was a Blickenstaff fan, I never even seen TOS).
But as far as actors literally being on stage I think their are a few
Elephaba in wicked is one. Shes almost in every scene and sings 90% of the songs.
Princeton/Rod in Avenue Q. One actor plays both roles and both characters are big parts of the show. If princeton isint on stage on scene, rod is.
Theirs lots of roles like that
Shrek
Billy Elliot
either Phantom or Christine.
"Everything in life, is only for now"
-Avenue Q
gcal
Leading Actor Joined: 10/19/04
#9re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:46am
Elphaba does not sing 90% of the songs...
Kristin Chenoweth made sure that didn't happen.
Elphaba may sing IN 90% of the songs, but even that's not true...
And look at all the supporting characters and their songs.
#10re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:47amobligatory: Patti LuPone in Gypsy
#11re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:48amDefinitely not the Phantom. He doesn't even show up for almost 40 minutes in the first act.
"America needs Joan Rivers" -- Joan Rivers
#12re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 2:01am
Gypsy
Funny Girl
Fiddle on the Roof
Billy Elliot
Jykle and Hyde
Genius lasts longer than beauty.
#13re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 2:01am
Good Morning you are right about Phantom So just Christine then.
But gcal Elephaba is in atleast 13 of the 18 songs (Not counting Glindas 40 second reprise in act 2)
The supporting characters each have 1 or 2 songs.
and the Ozians have about 3.
But even when the supporting characters sing (with the exception for the opening number and MOTWH) Elephaba is on stage.
"Everything in life, is only for now"
-Avenue Q
#14re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 2:20am
Elphaba may sing IN 90% of the songs, but even that's not true...
I love this sentence.
#15re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 2:55amI don't think Jersey Boys is necessarily carried by one actor. It really sucks to have a bad Frankie *ahem*RyanMolloy*ahem*, but if the rest of the cast is good, it can take some of the sting away.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
sn2214
Swing Joined: 11/24/07
#16re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 9:41am
Sunday in The Park With George comes to my mind. George only leaves during "No Life," "Gossip," and "Everybody Loves Louis." I thought he left during "The One on The Left" too but Daniel Evans is included in the artist credits somehow....
#17re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 9:46am
Irena in Irena's Vow
Salieri in Amadeus
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson
sally1112
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/04
#18re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 9:52amThe character of Sweet Charity is in almost every scene, song, and dance of that show. Who ever performs that role has to go home exhausted every night.
#19re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 9:55am
-Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray.
-Shrek in Shrek.
-Billy Elliot.
-Claude in Hair.
"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.
Updated On: 8/9/09 at 09:55 AM
#20re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 10:05am
^
I don't think Claude (or any character for that matter) carries the show. Pretty much the entire tribe is onstage for nearly the whole show. Plus about a dozen or so tribe members each have a moment to shine.
Wicked Tour (2/26/08); Wicked Bway (7/1/08); HAIR (7/1/09); Rock of Ages (7/2/09); Wicked Bway (7/3/09); Mary Poppins Tour (8/2/09); Wicked Tour (11/18/09); Wicked Tour (12/5/09)
#21re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 10:09am
Eva in Evita
Finch in How to Succeed
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
#22re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 10:23am
I don't think a lot of these examples work. Elphaba may have the harder role to sing (and I would never argue that), but Wicked is carried by both women. The show is most successful when they feed off each other, not when one of them "carries" the show. I would say Wicked is carried by two women.
I'll say that Gypsy is carried by all three leads, particularly in act 2. Yes, Rose is at the apex of the triangle, but she's not singing all of the songs, and the role is written to give her some generous time offstage.
I agree with the examples of Eva in Evita, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Shrek in Shrek, Charity in Sweet Charity, Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, and George in Sunday...
To that list I would add Dolly in Hello, Dolly, and the one that immediately came to mind for me as the show that truly has to be carried by one performer, or it's a disaster, is Mame. Without an excellent Mame, that show is going nowhere quickly.
#23re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 10:24amhow about Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza?
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#24re: Shows carried primarily by one actor
Posted: 8/9/09 at 10:24amTreyKenyon: I completely agree with you, but it seems in some small part that Claude is a bigger and more demanding role than simply any other Tribe member
"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.
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